Filming Begins on Horses, the Debut Feature by Director Jernej Kastelec

The first scenes of the feature film Horses were shot yesterday at Dob Prison. It is the feature debut of writer and director Jernej Kastelec. Filming will continue until mid-August.

Speaking about his first feature, Kastelec said:

“I have been living with Horses for more than five years. For months and years, I was mostly alone with the story and its characters, receiving feedback at screenwriting workshops and from the first people who joined the project. In recent months, it has increasingly become a shared creative effort. Every actor and every member of the crew brings their own perspective, experience and creative energy to it.

The moment filming begins is always magical for me. The film becomes a living organism, a collective work that takes on a life of its own. I therefore begin this shoot with great gratitude and a sense of awe, knowing that making a film goes far beyond any one person and their creative vision.”

Horses is a family drama about Miro, a prisoner transferred from a closed to an open prison unit. He begins spending weekends with his teenage son and young daughter, but soon discovers that his relationship with his son is his greatest challenge. Their encounters bring back painful memories of his own childhood and expose the family trauma he carries. Through the relationship between father and son, the film explores how violence can pass from one generation to the next, revealing both the tenderness and the darkness in their bond. It is a story about what we inherit and the courage it takes to break the cycle.

The lead role is played by Nejc Cijan Garlatti. The cast also includes Tina Vrbnjak, Jernej Kogovšek, Jurij Drevenšek, Luka Cimprič, Nataša Burger, Vladimir Vlaškalič, Nebojša Pop Tasić, Urban Kuntarič, Gašper Jarni, Maja Gal Štromar, Grega Čušin, Maruša Majer, Klemen Janežič, Vito Weis, Gaber Trseglav, Alenka Kraigher and Gašper Markun, among others. Anže Zornada, 13, and Vesna Pernuš, 8, make their film debuts as Miro’s children.

The film’s producer, Ida Weiss of Bela Film, said at the start of filming:

“As a producer, I believe Horses addresses something both universal and deeply personal. Sooner or later, many of us ask ourselves how many of our parents’ patterns of behaviour we carry within us and how we pass them on to our children, often without even realising it. Such discoveries can be painful, but I believe that being willing to be vulnerable and to change gives us a chance to break that cycle.

The screenplay moved me from the first reading. It is honest, compassionate and full of small emotional truths. I am grateful to be making this film with such a dedicated and talented crew and such excellent actors. I believe we will create a film that speaks not only about a father and son, but about all of us: what we carry within us and the courage it takes to change it.”

Matija Kozamernik is the production manager, and Andraž Žigart is the director of photography. Other key creative roles are held by production designer Mateja Medvedić, costume designer Nadja Bedjanič and makeup artist Eva Uršič.

Jernej Kastelec developed the screenplay through the Scenarnica programme. In 2024, Horses was selected from more than 100 applications for further development at the international MIDPOINT screenwriting workshop. In April 2026, the project was presented at the Dot.on.the.Map coproduction forum in Limassol, Cyprus, where it received a cash award from the Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Center EKKOMED.

The film is supported by the Slovenian Film Centre and Viba Film Studio.